PALO ALTO, CA, Jan 29, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
AutoGrid Systems, a leader in Big Data Analytics for the electricity
and energy industry, and Silver Spring Networks, a leading networking
platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks, today
announced a strategic partnership to jointly develop the Silver
Spring UtilityIQ(TM) Demand Optimizer solution, powered by AutoGrid,
to enable utilities, grid operators, service providers, and large
power consumers to implement traditional and advanced demand response
and demand side management programs quickly, securely and
cost-effectively. Under this agreement, Silver Spring Networks is
reselling AutoGrid's technology and integrating it into the newly
announced Silver Spring UtilityIQ(TM) Demand Optimizer solution, an
innovative demand response optimization and management offering.

Working closely together as part of the Silver Spring Partner
Program, this solution combines the compatibility, proven reliability
and security of Silver Spring's standards-based Smart Energy Platform
with the forecasting and optimization technology of AutoGrid.

"We are delighted to be working with Silver Spring, a true pioneer in
smart grid technologies. Utilities, electric service providers, and
their customers want to take advantage of demand side management
technologies to reduce electricity cost and improve system
reliability. The challenge has been the cost, capital and hard work
needed to implement and manage these programs. By pre-integrating
with Silver Spring Networks proven networking platform we are able to
significantly reduce the time, cost and risk of implementing demand
response while simultaneously increasing the overall yield and
effectiveness of these programs," said Dr. Amit Narayan, founder and
CEO of AutoGrid.

"We are proud to combine AutoGrid and Silver Spring's innovations to
deliver this new demand response optimization and management
solution," said Matt Smith, head of the Demand Side Management
business at Silver Spring Networks. "Silver Spring's proven
networking platform connects more than 13 million homes and
businesses worldwide, and we are excited to extend innovative new
demand management solutions to our customers atop that platform."
The new Silver Spring UtilityIQ(TM) Demand Optimizer solution helps
utilities manage peak load, implement real-time demand response
initiatives, and optimize load across all curtailment programs and
customer segments. Combining Big Data analytics, Internet-scale cloud
computing and open standards, leveraging existing investment in AMI
networks, the Silver Spring UtilityIQ Demand Optimizer solution
drastically reduces the cost of implementing demand side management
programs while significantly increasing the energy yield from these
programs.

Silver Spring's demand side management solutions are also at the
heart of Oklahoma Gas & Electric's (OG&E) SmartHours initiative.

Silver Spring is expanding the scope of its existing solution with
OG&E by deploying the Silver Spring UtilityIQ Demand Optimizer
solution to further enable OG&E customers to leverage dynamic pricing
and encourage them to shift their energy use to off-peak hours.

The Silver Spring UtilityIQ Demand Optimizer solution, powered by
AutoGrid, delivers fully integrated Demand Response Management
capabilities including:
-- A Unified View of All Available Resources Across All Programs. The
solution allows utilities and service providers to view available
capacity across all customer segments, load types, geographic
locations, and programs from a single dashboard. The system supports
all variations of traditional direct load control, critical peak
pricing, variable pricing, and peak-time rebate.

-- Comprehensive Networking and Communications. Supports communication
and dispatch to any device, over any channel of communication
including over Silver Spring's Smart Energy Platform, broadband
internet and cellular.

-- Broad Ecosystem of DR Field Devices. Supports a wide ecosystem of
devices and all commonly used industry standards such as OpenADR 1.0
and 2.0, SEP 1.x, as well as a number of other proprietary and legacy
protocols.

-- Powerful Optimization. Provides dispatch optimization across disparate
DR programs and systems, such as load control, time of use, and price
response, among others to improve the overall yield and effectiveness
of the programs.

-- Powerful Measurement, Verification, Analytics and Reporting. Provides
a large library of reports for accurately calculating and comparing
event and program performances across any customer or program
attributes by analyzing actual consumption data from the smart meters
immediately on completion of the event.

-- High Security, Reliability and Scalability. Customers gain the
benefits of enhanced security, reliability and privacy that they have
come to expect from Silver Spring Network's high standards of
deployment. Using a highly scalable cloud-based architecture the
system can support millions of connections and petabytes of data.

About AutoGrid
Founded in 2011, AutoGrid is dedicated to bringing the
power of Big Data, predictive analytics and Internet scale
computational techniques to the production and consumption of
electricity. Serving utilities of all sizes, grid operators,
electricity retailers, ESCO services companies, and end-users,
AutoGrid develops and markets services that both help lower costs and
improve reliability of the electricity supply chain. For more, please
see our website or contact us.

About Silver Spring Networks
Silver Spring Networks is a leading
networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks.